Lost Series Finale: "The End"

[exodus]

I'd love to see a gathering of the annoying B-island survivors. Arzt, Frogurt, Nikki, and Paolo, etc. I think that would be funny as hell.

Still not sure why Michael is trapped on the island. He did a terrible thing no doubt about it but he did come back to help those left behind. Kate, Sawyer, Sayid, and Ben have done terrible things before and after they left the island.

Besides the actor not wanting to do the show, Mr Eko is nowhere to be found either and he was studying to be a priest.
However, I'm wondering if it was because Micheal was tricked by the Others who are supposed to represent Jacob into doing what he did is the reason. Not sure.

 

[The Boy Who Cried Worf]

Only two observations.

1. As with BSG I enjoyed the roller coaster ride, but felt like throwing up once it was over. The last episode was engaging, exciting, and heart wrenching all at the same time. I teared up at the right times, I wondered what was going to happen next, and I was on the edge of my seat often.

I am also one of the opinion that these kind of endings are not only cop-outs, but seriously undermine these stories. I am wondering if we are still at an infancy period in this kind of television writing and right now the creators of these shows reach is exceeding their grasp. They are still struggling with the idea of how to create and on-going, evolving storyline without a firm ending planned until the end. As a consequence they might be willing to put almost anything on the screen comfortable in the knowledge that they won't have to explain any of it at the end of the day. "Hey lets put a chimpanzee in roller skates going by, the fans will think of their own meaning".

2. Am I the only one who kept thinking "House of M" throughout the episode. The scenes of everyone waking up to "the truth" really was cribbed from that.

 

[exodus]

^^What's "House of M"?

 

[The Boy Who Cried Worf]

^^What's "House of M"?

It is a comic book series by Marvel. It tells the story of a character who recreates reality giving a group of people what they most want. There are a few characters who still remember their past lives and want to set reality right. They then search out all the other people and restore their memories preparing for a big confrontation.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

I loved the character interactions and memory flashes in the sideverse but was a little disappointed to find out they were all just a part of a supernatural airport terminal of sorts while they awaited stragglers for their flight to the great beyond. It kind of negated the significance of the whole flash-sideways universe this entire season for me and made all the drama like Jin and Sayid's mafia misadventures seem like a big red herring. I would have preferred it to be an actual alternate universe and have them be given a choice of which universe they were going to live (or die) in. That certainly seemed to be where the show was heading. I'm all for the unexpected, but the whole afterlife thing is really sort of cliché when it comes to surprise endings.

That being said, and despite taking the easy way out on some of the big questions people had, the finale was still enjoyable and featured plenty of compelling drama. I was on the verge of tears at several points and on the edge of my seat when Neo-Jack fought Agent LockeSmith in the dramatic rainstorm to save Zion.

 

[doubleohfive]

I'd love to see a gathering of the annoying B-island survivors. Arzt, Frogurt, Nikki, and Paolo, etc. I think that would be funny as hell.

Still not sure why Michael is trapped on the island. He did a terrible thing no doubt about it but he did come back to help those left behind. Kate, Sawyer, Sayid, and Ben have done terrible things before and after they left the island.

Besides the actor not wanting to do the show, Mr Eko is nowhere to be found either and he was studying to be a priest.
However, I'm wondering if it was because Micheal was tricked by the Others who are supposed to represent Jacob into doing what he did is the reason. Not sure.

I think it had more to do with the fact that Michael was someone Jack simply could not save. Further, Michael was someone who betrayed all of the castaways, even if he did redeem himself later, it wasn't directly with Jack.

The blink-and-you'll-miss thing about the finale is that up until the church scene, the flash-sideways all season long I think have been about all the characters reconciling their deaths. The church scene however was only for Jack, and so only the people who were important to him during this "most important time in his/their lives" (i.e. the island) were there: Christian, Kate, Sawyer, Juliet, Hurley, Jin, Sun, Locke, Shannon, Boone, Libby, Sayid, Rose, Bernard, Desmond, Penny, Claire, Charlie, Aaron ...etc.

This is not to say that they each didn't also have their own version of the church scene where the people most important to them were present; it's just that this particular scene was for Jack's sake.

It also says something about Ben's character that even in death and what was likely a long life after Jack's death in which he could have redeemed himself, he still chose not to go in to Jack's church scene.

 

[exodus]

^^What's "House of M"?

It is a comic book series by Marvel. It tells the story of a character who recreates reality giving a group of people what they most want. There are a few characters who still remember their past lives and want to set reality right. They then search out all the other people and restore their memories preparing for a big confrontation.

Oh, that sounds kinda interesting.

 

[exodus]

I'd love to see a gathering of the annoying B-island survivors. Arzt, Frogurt, Nikki, and Paolo, etc. I think that would be funny as hell.

Still not sure why Michael is trapped on the island. He did a terrible thing no doubt about it but he did come back to help those left behind. Kate, Sawyer, Sayid, and Ben have done terrible things before and after they left the island.

Besides the actor not wanting to do the show, Mr Eko is nowhere to be found either and he was studying to be a priest.
However, I'm wondering if it was because Micheal was tricked by the Others who are supposed to represent Jacob into doing what he did is the reason. Not sure.

I think it had more to do with the fact that Michael was someone Jack simply could not save. Further, Michael was someone who betrayed all of the castaways, even if he did redeem himself later, it wasn't directly with Jack.

The blink-and-you'll-miss thing about the finale is that up until the church scene, the flash-sideways all season long I think have been about all the characters reconciling their deaths. The church scene however was only for Jack, and so only the people who were important to him during this "most important time in his/their lives" (i.e. the island) were there: Christian, Kate, Sawyer, Juliet, Hurley, Jin, Sun, Locke, Shannon, Boone, Libby, Sayid, Rose, Bernard, Desmond, Penny, Claire, Charlie, Aaron ...etc.

This is not to say that they each didn't also have their own version of the church scene where the people most important to them were present; it's just that this particular scene was for Jack's sake.

It also says something about Ben's character that even in death and what was likely a long life after Jack's death in which he could have redeemed himself, he still chose not to go in to Jack's church scene.

oh wow, that's pretty............deep.
Still, it's an acceptable answer.

Works for me.

 

[Delta1]

It was more than a dream though, they were physically in this other plane of existence at this point.

They weren't. There was no physical reality to that plane of existence. It all disappeared and became white light at the end. Physical reality doesn't do that.

 

[stj]

The finale was a collage of long lost lovers' meetings and death scenes. You'd have to be totally incompetent to fail to wring some mawkish sentimentality from it.

The problem with saying it's about the characters is that the characters are muddled. The problem with saying it's about their development is that the character arcs are both absurd and repetitive. The problem with saying it is about what the characters learn is that what they learn is nonsensical or trite.

 

[Peter the Younger]

I loved the character interactions and memory flashes in the sideverse but was a little disappointed to find out they were all just a part of a supernatural airport terminal of sorts while they awaited stragglers for their flight to the great beyond. It kind of negated the significance of the whole flash-sideways universe this entire season for me and made all the drama like Jin and Sayid's mafia misadventures seem like a big red herring. I would have preferred it to be an actual alternate universe and have them be given a choice of which universe they were going to live (or die) in. That certainly seemed to be where the show was heading. I'm all for the unexpected, but the whole afterlife thing is really sort of cliché when it comes to surprise endings.

I also would have preferred an actual alternate universe, and I'm not sure why they couldn't have done something like this and still done a reunion scene of sorts. I'm not hostile to the mystical elements as some are, but it's true the last reveal by Christian undermined the point of the Sideways world, and made many of the sideways events seem like a big holodeck program gone awry.

When I eventually watch the series again, I will probably skip the Sideways stuff to see how it plays with just the Island story.

That being said, and despite taking the easy way out on some of the big questions people had, the finale was still enjoyable and featured plenty of compelling drama. I was on the verge of tears at several points and on the edge of my seat when Neo-Jack fought Agent LockeSmith in the dramatic rainstorm to save Zion.

All hail Jack's flying death punch! That was one of the best single action shots they have ever done.

There were definitely some great emotional payoffs, though. The only time I really choked up was when Vincent came to sit with Jack as he lay there in the bamboo; Yes, it's manipulative to use a loyal pooch, and you know what, it worked: "Man's best friend will not let Jack die alone!"

If Hurley is smart, he will make that dog immortal, and assign him to help all Island newcomers.

 

[Agent Richard07]

^ He'll be the new Cerberus.

 

[DeafPoet]

Just found this post over at DarkUFO. The guy claims to work for Bad Robot and may have been a writer's assistant or something because he alludes to goings on in the writers' room.

I don't know if he's legit or not. I could go either way on it. But regardless of whether he's the real deal or not he offers up what I think is a pretty good explanation for what was going on in the finale.

Worth a read at any rate.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

^ He'll be the new Cerberus.

Better grow a couple more heads then.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Excellent. Best series finale I've ever seen - of course, series finales are notorious for sucking, but this is the best by a LONG ways.

Favorite moments:

-Sawyer and Juliet recognize each other over an Apollo bar.

-The very idea of Hurley and Ben teaming up on the island is just great!

-And of course the full-circle final image. Beats even DS9's final pull-back from the station for pure emotional punch!

Least favorite moments:

-Kate kills Smokey. It was too easy a death for Smokey, plus that was Ben's job.

-Michael snubbed at the afterlife party. He should have been freed from the island by then, possibly by something Hurley and Ben did. After all, Ben was responsible for the shit that happened to Michael. He must have had decades to make things right.

-The fact that the island didn't explode. I was kinda counting on it. It could sink and then bob back up to the surface so we can have the fun Hurley & Ben after-story too.

I see there are a lot of complaints about the afterlife being the solution to the flash sideways. I'm pretty sure that happened because the writers consider the characters' relationships the core of the story, and the mythology and Stop Smokey and action scenes are just padding for them. If you watch Lost with your heart and not your head, the finale looks much better.

 

[Hober Mallow]

Okay, I don't have time to read through this entire thread, but here's some of my thoughts.

Looking back at the flash sideways, it's interesting all the clues that were there early in the season regarding its true nature. In LA X, Rose smiles at Jack and says, "You can let go now." We didn't think anything of that line when we first heard it. That's what I love about Lost. When you rewatch the show after knowing what's going to happen, it's like watching a different show. On first viewing, "The Life and Death of Jeremy Benthem" has a happy ending. The second time you see it, it's tragic.

And now some of the producers' comments about the flash-sideways make sense. There were a couple of times when interviewers would ask Lindelof and Cuse about dying on the island and popping up in the flash-sideways. A couple of times, the producers said something like, "A more interesting question is what happens if you die in the flash-sideways?" Given what we now know, this is indeed an interesting question.

I have to say, I liked the ending. It seemed very final, and yet they could still continue the series next season. They shouldn't, but they could. Can't wait for the complete collection on blu-ray.

 

[Caligula]

Least favorite moments:

-Kate kills Smokey. It was too easy a death for Smokey, plus that was Ben's job.

I know I'm in the minority in feeling this way (just like my affinity for Season 2), but that would rank among my favorite moments from the finale.

 

[Electric Coleslaw]

Just found this post over at DarkUFO. The guy claims to work for Bad Robot and may have been a writer's assistant or something because he alludes to goings on in the writers' room.

I don't know if he's legit or not. I could go either way on it. But regardless of whether he's the real deal or not he offers up what I think is a pretty good explanation for what was going on in the finale.

Worth a read at any rate.

Yeah, that's pretty much how I saw the show. It's all there in the episodes.

 

[Hober Mallow]

I know I'm in the minority in feeling this way (just like my affinity for Season 2),--

Season two is my favorite.

 

[Hober Mallow]

Just found this post over at DarkUFO. The guy claims to work for Bad Robot and may have been a writer's assistant or something because he alludes to goings on in the writers' room.

I don't know if he's legit or not. I could go either way on it. But regardless of whether he's the real deal or not he offers up what I think is a pretty good explanation for what was going on in the finale.

Worth a read at any rate.

Yeah, that's pretty much how I saw the show. It's all there in the episodes.

I have no reason to doubt the authenticity of this guy, but I'm going to take his, uh... take on the show with a grain of salt, because right off the bat it's clear he is, himself, confused about the finale.

Look what he says in the first few sentences:

It was real. Everything that happened on the island that we saw throughout the 6 seasons was real. Forget the final image of the plane crash, it was put in purposely to f*&k with people's heads and show how far the show had come.

Um... there was no final image of a plane crash. The plane Jack saw was the Ajira flight flying away from the island with Frank and the others.

But, from a more "behind the scenes" note: the reason Ben's not in the church, and the reason no one is in the church but for Season 1 people is because they wrote the ending to the show after writing the pilot. And never changed it.

Sorry, that explanation doesn't work. Desmond was at the church. So was Penny. It wouldn't have been any effort to have Ben in there. I don't buy this,

The writers always said (and many didn't believe them) that they knew their ending from the very first episode. I applaud them for that. It's pretty fantastic. Originally Ben was supposed to have a 3 episode arc and be done. But he became a big part of the show.

This is a common misconception, although there is some truth to it. Henry Gale, not Ben Linus, was suppose to die after three episodes. The leader of the Others was then going to be introduced in season three. What the writers did was combine the two characters, so that Henry doesn't die and then we find out that he is actually the leader of the Others. Hardly a major story change, and to say "Ben Linus" was only going to be on the series for three episodes is factually incorrect.